Project Rex: Jurassic World's Secret
by bluevalleymist
Summary: In Jurassic World's need to be competitive in the amusement park world and the desire for fascination, they created more secrets than just the genetic structure of the Indominus Rex. Caught in the middle of it all and trying to survive, Tara struggles to make her own voice heard while staying away from unfriendly teeth.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Tara let out a sigh as she slipped through a metal door, the ground rumbling around her as a massive beast retreated further into the paddock. She punched in a few buttons to the door lock next to her. The door shut with a slam and the click told her the lock successfully engaged. She looked to the guard that motioned her in from the window as he took his seat in the corner once more. He waved to a walkie on a near-by table and she picked it up, thumbing the button that allowed her to speak. "Tara here, what's going on?" she asked.

"Claire wants you in the control center, get here stat," the familiar voice of Vivian responded. Tara sighed again, setting the walkie down again. She looked back to the guard, debating about asking him for more information, but resigned herself to ignorance. Her attention shifted back to the glass window, into the paddock. She used to dream about living in the environment, seeing how tall she really was compared to everything the dinosaurs lived amongst.

Now, she dreaded leaving it. The world of the park didn't interest her. She hated having to entertain the children, to give information that no one listened to or cared about. To them, these were animals like any other. With the right amount of respect, they would be harmless. Some even sought to try domesticating the reptiles, and many asked her about the possibility of the notion. And it was frowned upon to say anything but the usual niceties of 'well, anything is possible, isn't it?' or 'we tamed cats and dogs, so it's worth dreaming about'.

All she really wanted to tell them was that these beasts would eat them for breakfast and still be hungry, so even if taming them was possible, taking care of them would be another story. Humans and dinosaurs were just not meant to live together, which came as an almost irony in her life.

She slipped out of the security room and into the crowded streets of Jurassic World. Part of her expected the VIP golf cart ride to the control room, but she had no such luck. Instead, she made her way through the crowd of people, ignoring the children that pointed and called her out as 'that T-Rex woman' and the slightly older kids who mentioned the shade of her eyes.

She attempted to keep her gaze on the ground, letting her dark bangs fall in her face as she walked, and kept to herself as she jogged her way up some stairs and turned left. If she was Claire, they would have given her the decency of picking her up, or at least given her one of the vehicles to travel down the road on. Even Owen had a motorcycle to travel around the park on. Then again, that lucky bastard didn't have to come near the crowds of people. The Raptor paddock wasn't even an open exhibit yet.

She stopped outside one of the gates to the back road that led to the control center. "Badge," the guard responded. She looked up at the man before rolling her eyes and fishing through her pockets for the flimsy thing. She pulled it out and showed it to the man. The guard eyed it, about to ask why it looked like one of the exhibits stepped on it and possibly tried eating it, but instead opened the gate.

She shoved the laminated object back into her pocket and headed out onto the road. The silence that greeted her, and the lack of human bodies, came as a wave of relief. The tension she didn't even know her muscles held seemed to run away and tilted her head to either shoulder, stretching her neck a bit. She knew there should be more urgency in her steps, that she should walk a bit faster than she was. Vivian sounded fearful when she talked to her on the walkie, but she remembered the woman sounding the same way when she talked about one of the handlers that somehow got stuck in the aviary some months back.

It didn't take her long to get the control center anyway, probably only about fifteen minutes. Again, she flashed the tattered badge to allow her in, and moved into the room. All eyes fell to her for a brief moment before looking back to the screens, where a red dot moved across it, leaving a trail of dashes behind it. "What got out?" she asked, making her way over to the red head in the obnoxiously white outfit.

"The Indominus Rex," the woman answered. Tara shook her head some and pushed her brows together.

"The _what_?" she asked. The other woman closed her eyes, a heavy breath laced with impatience forcing its way out of her lips. Tara arched a brow and tilted her head slightly; Claire was never one for showing any sign of de-composure. Tara looked back to the screen, turning her body away from the other woman and directing her attention forward. Whatever this Indominus Rex was, it certainly could move quickly.

"It's part T-Rex," Claire finally answered. The other woman paused before scoffing. She looked back to the woman in her white skirt before laughing a bit and shaking her head. The true test of her new purpose. It also stood as another sign that these people didn't understand the nature they were messing with. The red head went to speak and Tara put her hand up, shooting her a serious look.

"Whatever you're thinking, whatever is running through your head, the answer is no. Clean up your own mess." Claire sighed and Tara almost giggled, waiting for the woman's fists to clench and her foot to stomp like some spoiled child who faced a rejection. She looked back to the screen. Maybe she should take this whole situation more seriously. After all, Claire was breaking down, that red dot meant something had escaped it's enclosure, and she had no idea what an Indominus Rex was.

"We need your help, Tara. This is part of why you…" the woman let her sentence trail off, her attention darting around the others in the room. Tara looked to Mister Masrani, almost grinning. Even that man didn't know exactly what they did, but they certainly didn't want everyone in the control center to know. She looked around at the rows of workers, wondering if any of them knew what they'd done. Maybe that blonde girl, the one in charge of communications.

She looked back to the red dot moving across the screen and then back to Claire. She leaned a bit closer to the woman, sniffing at her neck before the woman leaned away. Both of them were about to speak when the elevator doors opened. The security guard demanded a badge from someone, saying someone couldn't enter without. Both of the women standing in the middle of the room turned to look over, watching Owen walk by.

He demanded to know what happened, shooting down Claire's arguments with talk about how intelligent that 'animal' was. Tara could barely hold back her laugh. It was those 'animals' that they sought to understand so much, that they sought to be able to communicate with and control, yet the spoke down about them all too often. She was about to interject when Vivian pointed out that this Indominus Rex was close to the beacon and chatter began to form over the radio with the ACU. All eyes turned to the screen.

Tara took a few side steps, moving closer to Owen. Her brows pushed together and she looked to him. "Are you covered in motor oil?" she asked. He passed her a quick glance before returning his attention to the feed in front of them.

"Don't ask," he muttered. She eyed him.

"Shame. You're about the only one who might give me answers," she retorted. She let out a small sigh and waited. The live video feed flickered onto the screen, showing the armed forces carrying non-lethal weapons. Tara tilted her head, taking a few curious steps forward.

"They're carrying non-lethals?" Owen pointed out.

"We have thirty-six million riding on that asset, we can't just kill it," Masrani countered. Owen whispered something about the men dying. Tara found herself anticipating what was going to happen. She'd watched one encounter with the ACU in the field previously, when one of the smaller carnivores got out of containment. If she recalled correctly, it was one of the metriacanthosauruses, a dinosaur around the size of a human but much stronger and faster.

They'd used non-lethals back than as well. One man lost his arm and another very narrowly kept from getting bitten in the neck. Something told her this fight was going to be much different, much worse all around, especially if that dinosaur was being sponsored for as much as it was. Whatever it was, was something quite special, and she was curious to see it.

Owen started pushing for them to call off the mission and Claire began to lose her composure even more, telling him that he wasn't in control. She couldn't help her small scoff at the woman in white. "Looks to me like that thing is," she responded. The dirty look the red head gave her didn't escape her, but she didn't care. She was too enthralled in the screen in front of them to give her look a chance to bother her.

One of the men on the screen picked up a large chunk of flesh, a small beacon flashing blue embedded in it. The conversation at that point was lost on Tara, her mind racing to fill the missing pieces of the puzzle. And then it appeared.

A dinosaur much larger than a T-Rex came out from the trees, its color changing from that around it to the greyish-white of, what could only be assumed, its natural color. The commander cried out that it could camouflage and Tara whipped around, facing Claire. "What did you create?!" she shouted. No one listened. Everyone just watched in half curiosity and half horror at the scene unfolding in front of them as monitor after monitor flat lined.

The audio caught cries of terror and pain, words of "I don't want to die here" and "someone save me". And then, just as quickly as the panic and the shouting started, all went quiet, except for the continuous screech of flat lined heart monitors. Tara turned toward the screen again, surprised that even one of them survived and wondering how long it would be before that monster hunted them down and killed them as well.

Owen turned, facing them Claire and Masrani, telling them to close the park down. Claire objected, stating that they would never reopen and Owen pointed out that this genetic hybrid was learning things for the first time. Of course, neither of the two heads of the park understood what they were getting into, or what they had accidentally unleashed, and Owen's arguments fell on deaf ears. He approached Masrani, leaning in to speak to him in private. Tara watched as Owen entered the elevator and made his exit, everyone else waiting for orders or a plan. Claire took a moment before ordering everything north of the resort be closed off, stating it was a real world phase one.

Tara moved a bit closer to her, listening to the chatter of Vivian giving commands to everyone around the park. Claire fixed her gaze on Tara. "That's no T-Rex," Tara stated. "You can't expect me to be able to do anything with that."

"Everyone has to do their part," the red head responded. Tara shook her head.

"There's a line, and this is where I draw it. Owen has told you people a million times that there is no controlling these things. Even if there was some way I could dare get near that without getting eaten, if it's a Rex, it lives off of family ties. I'm not its family." She turned to face the screen, watching the captures of families and guests. "The only way to stop that, is to kill it."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

When the park first laid out their emergency protocols, cramming over two thousand bodies into the confines of the resort didn't seem like a big deal. They did, after all, have enough housing for them to sleep there for the night. The only downfall was that, with the downplay of the emergency, no one really went to their hotel room. They all wanted to stay outside so they could get a nice drink, their kiddies could play with the young dinosaurs, and they could view those exhibits that could be seen from the resort.

Tara made the same underestimation of the body count, having taken the road back into the resort from the control center on the top of the hill. She hated being in crowded places as it was, but when the bodies pushed against hers as she tried to figure out a place she could escape to, she found her frustrations growing. "Hey, Tara!" she heard a familiar voice call out. Her attention scanned over the area, stopping only when she saw the waving hand of Owen.

Without hesitation, she pushed her way through the crowd and over to him. "What the hell is going on, Owen?" she asked. The man crossed his arms, glancing northward. She would have looked in the same direction, but she knew he was just thinking about the monster they watched on screen. He looked back to her.

"I know about as much as you do," he answered. She arched a brow, straightening some as she stood.

"You stink of motor oil, you're hyped up, and you were asking what happened 'out there', wherever the hell that is. Don't lie to me." He sighed, his strong shoulders drooping a bit at being called out and he let his chin fall to his chest.

"That thing is part Rex." He tilted his head upward a bit more, his eyes catching hers. He remembered the deep green they used to be, when he first met her. Now they shone of that amber, the same amber their T-Rex had, the same that damned Indominus had. They were predatory, foreign.

She looked away from him, her lips pursing as she pressed her teeth into her cheek. "I know," she answered. "Claire told me." He shook his head as if anticipating what she was going to tell him.

"You're not going out there." She smiled some.

"I may be stupid enough to let them do this to me, but I'm not stupid enough to let them think I can play bait." Their eyes caught again and he nodded, his hands moving to his hips as he stood in front of her. It was that big brotherly stance she'd come to appreciate from him, the same one he gave her when she told him she was going to agree to the offer the heads of the park presented to her.

She sighed a bit and took a step closer to him. "If the park falls…" She paused, keeping her gaze low, her eyes scanning over the people passing by. "Do you think they'll take me or leave me?"

"What kind of question is that?" he asked, not even taking a breath after she finished asking. He reached out, putting his hands to her shoulders and leaning in a bit. She looked back to him, feeling his breath on her face. "Nobody is leaving you. Barry and I will make sure of that, you know that." She nodded some. "You're not one of those dinosaurs, Tara."

"Only part, right?" she asked, a grin overtaking her lips. A split second later, the grin was gone. She turned some, taking a deep breath and letting it out, her gaze falling to the north.

The Indominus Rex wasn't the only genetically enhanced being in the park. When profits were falling and guest counts were low, the people on top decided that they were lacking what Sea World had – workers that could be with the animals, up close and personal. Of course, it wasn't interesting enough to be around the herbivores. No, they wanted the workers to be around the carnivores. The only problem they saw was that Owen was the only one who had a chance at being able to do something like that, and even he couldn't just walk in the raptor cage and expect to be accepted.

But they had the power of genetics, so why not use it?

Tara was one of the first workers to be brought into Jurassic World, being a dedicated paleontologist with a fascination in animals. She didn't like the safe job of being around the herbivores. Sure, one wrong move meant you could get into a world of trouble, but it wasn't like the thrill of being near the carnivores. Someone had to be brave enough, or stupid enough, to be in the carnivore paddocks when the creatures were tranquilized and in need of an inspection.

Her employers saw this, so they approached her about the notion of being 'genetically enhanced' to be around them without fear. The whole idea was foolish and she argued against it for months, throwing out facts about the dinosaurs that she swore no one cared about. Each time they approached her, she felt cornered more and more. She reached out to Owen and Barry who tried to talk her out of it.

Finally, she gave in, deciding that if she didn't do it, some other poor sap would.

She looked back to Owen. "Can't say I blame that beast much for what she's doing," she stated. The man shook his head, turning and heading to an indoor location, somewhere out of the heat.

"Can't say I disagree," he answered. He pulled open one of the doors and waited for her to pass through. "But no one deserves a death like that." Tara paused in front of him.

"Maybe," she answered. She slipped inside. Her attention shifted around the room. Even inside, people gathered together. She wondered if it would be possible to slip off to the T-Rex paddock and slip inside again, away from the crowds, knowing the tempers would flare. She glanced over her shoulder, watching the door close behind her companion. The crowds were tight, and she'd barely even made it into the resort at this point. It would take her much longer to navigate further inside.

Owen stepped up next to her, his own gaze skimming around the room. He couldn't say he was much of a people person either. Everyone was locked inside like sardines in a tin can, and he knew it meant tempers would flare, including his own. "Stay with me," he told Tara. She looked to him, shooting him a look as if asking if he really just said that.

"Yes, dad," she joked back. He shot her a look of his own.

"Don't give me that shit." She laughed a little.

"We need a plan, you know. Can't just sit here waiting for more shit to hit the fan." He nodded, glancing around a bit more. Claire and Masrani wanted everyone in the dark, and he couldn't blame them for that. If anyone knew what happened out there, there would be mass panic, which would only create more complications. Luckily, that genetically modified creature was out in the open, where no park guests were. For now, they could use that. But if word got out that they were in real danger, people would take to the ferries and try to get off the island, making easy territory for the creature.

He motioned for her to follow him and headed to where the crowd thinned out. Most of the people in this area were up against the glass. Tara watched them. They were probably hoping to see something of interest outside, a fight or maybe a dinosaur out of containment. Or maybe they were just wishing that whatever this was would end so they could go back to enjoying themselves. She moved closer to the window, looking out. No signs of anything out of the ordinary.

"Hey look, it's the woman that's at the T-Rex exhibit sometimes," one of the kids whispered. She looked in their direction, studying them a moment before forcing a smile. The friend of the kid that spoke stared at her. She tried not to let her annoyance show. "Is it true you can walk with the T-Rex?" the first kid asked.

"Can you walk with wolves?" she retorted. The kid fell silent for a moment before grinning.

"One day I will," he answered. She couldn't help her small laugh and shook her head. Maybe people weren't always bad. She was about to respond when she heard Owen, telling some guy to back off. Her attention moved over to him again. He held his hands in the air and she moved away from the window, wondering what in the hell he was doing now.

"You're the one that ran into me," the man retorted. "Don't act like I'm in the wrong here." Tara stood behind Owen, crossing her arms slightly. She heard Owen sigh, the two men practically staring each other down.

"Doesn't matter whose fault it is, just walk away." The man scoffed.

"Maybe you should take your own advice, buddy." Owen's eyes narrowed slightly, his hands lowering a bit.

"Buddy?" he asked.

"You heard me." Owen took a deep breath, letting his hands go to his sides. He stared at the man, wondering if he'd have this attitude if he found out how close he got to the Velociraptors and survived. After a moment of staring at each other, he finally turned around, practically running into Tara as he did so. She stared up at him, silently asking for an explanation. He shook his head, walking passed her and back into the crowd of people. She glanced to the other man before turning and following after Owen.

Even those few moments gave the crowd enough time to practically mask the man. It took careful footwork to make her way to him, and by the time she finally did, he was already pulling Claire off somewhere else. She made her way over to them.

"How old?" she heard Owen ask. Claire struggled to answer the question, saying that someone was high school age and the younger one was a few years of something. Difference, Tara figured. She could sense the panic growing even more in Claire, the woman practically had tears in her eyes. She laughed when she heard Owen comment about the age issue and the people being described as her nephews. It caught their attention.

"Their age doesn't matter," she insisted. "They're in trouble." She looked back to Owen. "Help me, please." The man gave her a nod.

"Come on," he responded. He passed a quick glance to Tara before heading toward the doors. Claire pulled out her phone, dialing a number that the amber eyed woman assumed would be to one of her nephew's, before following after him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Tara stretched her legs out in the back seat of the G63, her arm resting on the back of the seat, her back against the door. She kept her gaze foreword, watching through the front window. The last time she sat in the backseat of one of the Mercedes was when they were taking her from the lab to the paddock. Owen had been with her on that day as well. Things were different back then; she was still adjusting to the genetic enhancements and the only one at risk was herself.

No beast roamed too freely around Jurassic World.

Owen pulled the vehicle to a stop and told them to stay inside. She shifted, leaning forward and between the seats, watching as the man approached one of the downed long necked creatures. "If anyone can find your nephews, it's him," she stated, not even bothering to look at the woman next to her.

"I know," Claire responded. She grabbed the door handle and pushed the door open, sliding out from the seat and heading toward the downed creature. Tara rolled her eyes and practically threw herself back against the seat.

"Stay in the car. No, I think I'm going to ignore all danger and get out," she muttered to herself before rolling her eyes. She pushed open one of the rear doors and walked through the tall grass, watching as Claire started running a hand on the animal. Part of her knew she should be upset; that there should be part of her that felt some sympathy, but the other part of her told her it was life.

That part of her, that small part of her, told her that dinosaur was prey. The stronger one got it, and that was life.

She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Owen said something about the dinosaur killing for sport and she opened her eyes again, looking in the direction they were. She could smell the death without looking to the other side of the hill – a perk to everything she let them do. Owen glanced over his shoulder at her and then to Claire. "Rex don't do that," Tara remarked. She walked a few feet closer to them. "Raptors don't." She glanced to the man standing on the other side of the woman. "Humans do."

"Your little lab cooked up something nasty," he remarked. He turned, heading back to the car. Claire turned, facing Tara. She could see the silent question in the woman's eyes and resigned herself to a sigh. She crossed her arms and looked back out at the carnage in front of them.

"If they're in danger I'll… do something to hold it off," she muttered. Before allowing the red head to respond, she turned and headed back to the car herself. She slipped inside, in the backseat again. Owen already sat in the front seat, hands on the wheel, eyes ahead.

"You didn't feel anything, did you?" he asked. Her body froze before she forced a shrug.

"Was I supposed to?" He shifted, his gaze only grazing over the fact that Claire just opened her door. He looked Tara square in the eyes.

"It's human," he answered. She paused, her eyes softening a tad before she looked away. People were prone to their animal nature when they were pushed into hard situations or made to survive, but she knew she had to watch herself. Living away from people and with an aggressive beast, one she'd been genetically enhanced to understand and share some traits with made her exceptionally prone to it. She gave him a small nod and he started driving again. They drove in silence, everyone thinking their own thoughts. Tara knew Owen would be thinking more about the beast and tracking the kids than their actual safety. She figured Claire was thinking about their safety and her sibling that would likely kill her if the two ended up dead.

And she tried to distract herself by staring out the window and cursing the whole situation. It wasn't like no one could have seen this coming. People always thought they could mess with nature, play with things that shouldn't be played with. Another part of human nature, thinking you could control everything.

Owen stopped outside of a part of the fencing that led to the restricted section. He let the headlights pierce through the semi-darkness before pulling the car through, letting it creep along. Ahead, the broken remnants of the gyrosphere rested in the middle of the trees. The three hopped out, not bothering to take a look at what was around them. They all approached the broken ride before Claire cried out, noticing a broken phone on the ground. Owen said something and Tara looked around a bit, taking a few steps away from the broken ride.

She sniffed at the air, not noticing the other two head off in the direction of the tracks. Her attention stayed on the tree line, her eyes scanning over them. She remembered what Commander Hamada said just before the beast got him. _It can camouflage._ She glanced in the direction she heard shouting and paused. Claire was calling for something, probably her nephews.

Tara looked forward again, making small guttural noises that sounded somewhere between the cooing of one of the raptors and a gargling from a human. She paused again. If the Indominus was anywhere around, she figured it would have attacked for now. After all, as Owen said, she was killing for sport. "Tara!" she heard Owen shout. She turned, looking to him. He motioned for her to follow and she quickly moved after him, following the tracks again and meeting up with Claire. "They jumped, we're heading down river," he stated.

She leaned over the edge, looking down at the water some. Her eyes followed the water before she looked to Owen. "Are we jumping?"

"Are you crazy?" Claire shot back. The other girl's amber eyes shifted to her.

"They did it. Easiest way to follow." The two women looked to Owen, who glanced between them before turning and starting to walk.

"We can just follow the river," he responded. The other two started after him.

To Tara, it didn't feel like they had gone very far before the sound of engines made them stop, and then sprint. She watched the other two speed up and let out a sigh. As exciting as it was, being close to where the boys probably were, the sounds were going to attract a guest they didn't want. She knew that. She glanced around some, waiting for the rumble of earth, before sprinting off after the other two.

Owen picked up a jacket. "This one of theirs?" he asked.

"Yeah," Claire breathlessly answered. Tara glanced over the structure as she entered the large opening.

"Holy shit. Is this part of the original park?" she asked. Everyone knew there were old buildings from the original structure. Hell, the entrance to their park was from the original, but she'd never really seen anything else for her own eyes. At least, nothing else that hadn't already been modified. Owen started rummaging around, trying to figure out how to get the other Jeep going so they could catch up to the boys. He was about to pull open the hood when things shook, dirt being dislodged from the crumbling remains. Claire gasped and the three ducked. The distinct sound of a footstep could be heard and the other two ducked behind the vehicle.

A tug of war started inside her head. The human part told her to join them, to find a way to huddle behind the vehicle and remain out of sight. She was hunting, she would win. The other part told her to stand her ground, to fight back even though the odds were impossible. She looked to the other two, catching Owen's gaze, and managed to slide in front of them and duck on the other side of the Jeep.

The Indominus stopped at the entrance. She leaned in and sniffed. Her nose nudged against the Jeep, fully aware of her surroundings. Tara felt the vehicle rock into her, bouncing her slightly. Before it slammed back down, the Rex's growls retreating. Tara paused for a brief second before shifting and leaning forward some, glancing to Claire and Owen around the front of the car.

The roof of the structure suddenly came crashing down with the roar of the beast. Claire and Owen both jumped up and made a run for it. The vehicle slid, catching Tara enough that she fell to the floor. She managed to get to get to her feet just in time to narrowly dodge the mouth of the animal towering over her. The thought that it was part Rex rang through her mind. She knew the Tyrannosaurus worked off of familial ties, but this was mixed with something else. Maybe Claire had been onto something.

She let out a noise that seemed foreign to her, a noise she'd heard in those educational videos, a noise the young used as a cry for help. The Indominus let out a roar of its own in response. Tara turned, darting through the doorway and almost stumbling on the rubble as the large foot of the Indominus hit the ground behind her. How Claire could run in those damn shoes amazed her. She cursed Owen for running off in front of her. The lab would pay for creating such a giant beast. Maybe the Tyrannosaurus would get revenge for her death.

Her thoughts disappeared and the small glimmer of hope pressed into her mind as she made it out the second doorway, not even stopping to look up at the sound of the helicopter. She just kept running, noticing the shaking of the ground lessening. She slid to a stop and dared to glance behind her, nothing.

A breathe of relief escaped her. She glanced around again, noticing nothing but the foliage. Somewhere, Claire and Owen had run off. The Indominus went another direction and she prayed in her mind that it wasn't trying to bluff her.

She laughed a bit and shook her head. A long time ago, she had the place memorized. Or maybe it wasn't that long ago. Time blurred into one long chunk in her mind with how cut off she'd become. They used to come to her for directions, among other things. It was how she met Owen.

" _Where are you headed?" Tara asked, her green eyes running over the man in front of her. There had been rumors for weeks that someone from the Navy would be joining them, someone to work with the Raptors, but she hadn't heard of any more updates with it. She figured the man must have been around for ACU training; they were always looking for more members to risk their lives in the park._

" _Raptor paddock," he answered. She stared at him._

" _They finally got that going?" She couldn't mask the excitement in her tone. The paddock itself wasn't of interest. They were all just buildings – solid walls with reinforcements. She didn't know they were introducing the Raptors to the park yet, even with the other expansions. Even the aviary hadn't yet been approved; it was all in the restricted areas, the places she never got to go._

" _Oh yeah." He nodded. "Take it you're not my guy then." She laughed a little and shook her head._

" _Don't underestimate me yet." She grinned a bit and crossed her arms over her chest, glancing into the sky. "I know where it's supposed to be. Which means you have to leave the resort." She looked back to him. "I can show you, but only if you get them to show me the Raptors." He chuckled some._

" _Not my decision."_

" _Then I'm not your guy." The two studied each other, both of them waiting for the other one to cave. Her brows rose, waiting for a response. She had the information he needed; he had nothing to supply other than her simple demand. He sighed, hanging his head and shaking it with a small laugh._

" _They're still young but dangerous," he stated, waving his hand for her to lead him. She grinned and started walking._

" _Everything here is dangerous." His eyes glittered for a moment. The only one yet to agree with him on that was Barry, an old friend who got him the job here. "Some are just more so than others. Anything that will eat me is definitely high on that list."_

Tara climbed across the roof of the smashed Jeep and slid to the ground, glancing through the large opening. Claire said that path led back to the resort. She took a deep breath and headed through the entrance. "You're on your own now, Owen. Good luck," she muttered, shaking her head a bit and heading down the pathway.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Tara made her way down the road, her ears and eyes open. Luckily, the ground wasn't shifting under her feet, which let her know there wasn't any immediate danger. At least, none that she could think of. She kept her pace rather slow; there was nothing waiting for her back at the resort and, unless the kids managed to crash off the road, they would get themselves to safety anyway.

She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Sometimes, she wished she was allowed to carry a walkie-talkie on her. It would be nice to check in with the control center and see what was going on. Unfortunately, she was left blind.

She continued on her way to the resort, her eyes scanning every which way across the road as she walked. Her gaze scanned over the tracks on the ground, noticing those of a vehicle, and then looked up again. She felt certain that it wouldn't only be the boys that used this path, after all, this also led out to the aviary, the Raptors, and most likely that Indominus Rex.

Speaking of the aviary.

She came to a stop and listened to the sounds around her, hearing a somewhat distant cawing in the sky. For a moment, she wondered if a flock of birds had been disturbed by one of the roaming creatures, and then she realized it was too reptilian. These weren't the sounds of an ordinary bird. Curious, she stopped and turned slightly, glancing up through the trees that covered her current path.

In the skies above her, hundreds, if not thousands, of flying dinosaurs from the aviary filled the sky. They didn't seem to notice her on the ground below, through the trees, as they made their way straight for the resort. She wondered if they had a way of knowing where the mass of people were or if they just happened to set out in this direction. She turned and faced the resort as they continued in that direction and noticed the brighter patches ahead.

The line of trees came to an end not too far along, and she knew the only thing keeping her from the snapping jaws of one of those creatures was the foliage between. She let out a slew of curses before darting into the foliage. Paddock nine was too far around the rest of the resort, but the entrance to the back passages of the park weren't very close either. She let out another curse and headed toward the edge of the trees, hoping that, by the time she got there, someone would still be around to manage the gate and nothing would be trying to eat her.

Once she made it to the edge, she paused again. No guards manned the top of the gate and most of the flying foes were already wreaking havoc inside. Screams from frightened tourists could be heard for what felt like miles, and quite possibly was, but the gate still stood partially open. She surveyed the skies above her one last time before heading out across the grassy field, breaking into a straight run.

If anyone got their senses together and managed to find their way out of danger, they would close that gate. Luckily, no one did before she made it inside. The screaming and the wailing of the sirens grew only louder as she followed the pathway into the chaos of the resort. People ran in all directions, clearly unsure of which way they could go to get safe. The bodies of flying reptiles whizzed passed her as well, one of them skimming just too close for comfort. She tried to keep herself against the wall, pausing only when something got in her way or she felt something rush passed her.

Her attention moved something coming for her. She felt her breath catch before she ducked, the creature's talons grazing over her back. Almost immediately, she turned, watching it land on the ground as someone managed to get passed it. It half squawked, half growled at her and she opened her mouth, letting out the adolescent cry of a T-Rex – a hard thing to master after the lab was done with her.

From somewhere further off, she could hear the cry of the actual T-Rex. A light smile flitted across her face and the Dimorphodon turned and clumsily took back into the air, only to swoop down seconds later and snatch up some other unsuspecting victim. It was in that moment she saw the Mosasaurus leap out of the water, grabbing one of the flying creatures in its mouth, and falling back into the water.

She stared in that direction before another of the flying beasts swooped down just in front of her. In the moment that followed, she took off running, heading through the thinning crowd of people and the open area of the resort. Someone ran full force into her, sending her down and skidding partially across the ground, the other person landing on top of her. The weight of the other person disappeared at the caw of another Dimorphodon and she watched the person get carried off and dropped back down not far away.

She flinched at the sounds of shots being fired and watched as creature after creature began to fall. She got back up to her feet, changing course and heading toward the shooting, figuring even if Owen wasn't there, at least it would get her away from the confusion and the panic. She watched, and stopped again, as one of the larger Pterodons came gliding down from the sky and skimmed across the pavement. Two kids narrowly escaped getting gored by its beak like maw and she took to running again, sliding passed the animal.

Owen wrestled with one of the winged creatures on the ground before Claire hit it with the blunt side part of the gun and then fired probably too many tranquilizer darts into it. "Is that Aunt Claire?" She came to a stop a little ways ahead of the boy who asked the question and looked back to face him. For some reason, she pictured them to look much different. The older was clearly the type to grow into a pretty boy later in the life and the younger one looked like he might get bullied in school for being a nerd.

Claire finally noticed them; crying out to them and running passed Tara. She watched the woman dote over them before looking to Owen. The man approached her, a half smile on his face. "I thought we lost you," he responded.

"If that helicopter hadn't come by, you probably would have," she answered. She paused before turning and facing the three others. "I can't speak to it though. Or, it doesn't care. Something like that." She shook her head slightly and looked to him. He studied her.

"You stop to talk to it?" he asked.

"No, it nearly ate me. I thought maybe I could get out of a tough situation."

"It's not your fucking T-Rex, Tara." She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and looking back to Claire and the boys.

"You tell me what you do when the thing practically ate you."

"Turn and run, that's what." He shook his head and headed over to the other three. Tara watched him a moment before sighing and following after him. He told the others they had to go and Claire ushered off the boys to follow him, Tara following up behind. The other woman turned slightly as they walked.

"Glad to see you alive," she stated, offering a small smile. Tara studied her as she turned back around before picking up her pace slightly and walking alongside her.

"Same to you," she responded. The two glanced to each other before the other woman pulled out her phone. She heard her talking to Larry as they entered one of the back ways. There was an exchange between the two about the Raptors, which set off Owen. She looked to the man, about to say she would go with him to defend the animals when the doors behind them began to bow in.

They took off for one of the vehicles, the five of them narrowly making it into the car. The two boys seemed to ignore her presence as they squeezed between the front seats, shouting at Owen to go and to drive. He backed the vehicle into an open spot and they watched the crowd run passed them.

The boys asked if they could stay with them and Claire started talking about never leaving them. Of course, they meant Owen and Tara could help her laugh. At that point, the boys seemed to notice her and leaned back some. "Guess you're comin' with me," Owen responded, shifting the car into drive again and heading out, being cautious of any stragglers from the large group.

"Your eyes…" the older boy pointed out and Tara looked to him. "Why are they like that?" he asked. She paused, passing a quick glance up to Claire and then to him again.

"I don't suppose you'd let me just say it was a birth defect, huh?" she asked.

"They're like the dinosaur eyes," the younger one pointed out. She looked to him and gave a small nod before looking forward. She caught Owen's glance to them through the rearview mirror before she looked to the younger boy again.

"I'm sure you'll find out sooner or later why. For now, we have a park to save," she responded.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

By the time they arrived at the Raptor paddock, night had already fallen. Baseball stadium style lights lit up the area and military equipped InGen personnel filled the area as Owen pulled the vehicle to a stop. He wasted no time getting out, not even bothering to close his door as Claire and Tara made their way out of the vehicle. Hoskins made a remark and the other man took no hesitation in decking him square in the jaw.

Anger laced Hoskins's gaze, but he managed to refrain from anything unnecessary, despite rubbing his injured jaw. Claire and Barry joined in against the head man, saying their pieces against what the man considered to be a 'mission'. Tara debated saying something, but she already knew those in power in the park never changed their minds; they did what they wanted. If it was any other way, they wouldn't be in the current situation they were in.

Hoskins, proving Tara's thoughts, told them to move out before turning and telling Owen that it was happening, with or without him. Owen stared down the man, jaw twitching as he thought over what he wanted to say, or do. Tara moved around Claire to the other side of Owen, eying Hoskins as she did so. The man caught her gaze, almost chuckling at the sight of her. "If you wanna keep those Raptors safe Owen, you have to comply," she responded, never taking her attention away from the other man.

"I know that," he answered. He didn't look away either. Hoskins looked back to him and grinned.

"I knew you were smart," he retorted. Tara was surprised when Owen didn't move and wondered if he was holding back what she was expecting to see, another hit. The man looked to Barry.

"I want you with me," he stated. He looked to Claire. "You and the kids go somewhere safe." Tara and Claire glanced to each other before the red head shook her head.

"I'm staying here, for when you get back."

"You promised the boys you'd stay with them, so they're going to want to stay here," Tara pointed out. She looked back to Owen. "I'll go to the control center. No use for me here or out there."

"I wouldn't say that," Hoskins piped up again. He eyed Tara. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she studied him, almost daring him to say more. Of course, he wasn't a man to back down from a dare. "That thing is part Rex. Not to mention, you have the smell of one of those animals." She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Doesn't listen to me," she answered. She turned her head some and forced a smile. "And all I'm going to smell out there is death. Had enough of that today, thank you." She turned, not wanting to say another word and hoping no one else did. Luckily, they did. She slipped into the driver's seat of the car and closed her door before turning to look into the backseat. "Your aunt wants you with her. Need to get out now."

The two nodded some and climbed out, closing their doors behind them. She glanced forward again, studying the group as Hoskins finally started walking away. Owen, Barry, and Claire seemed to be exchanging ideas. Tara put the Mercedes in gear and turned around, heading back up the road toward the resort and the control center. She let out a sigh, contemplating returning to paddock nine. The people of the park had pretty much abandoned it on their own, so she saw no real obstruction.

But she reminded herself that she told them she would go to the control center, and with InGen claiming that they were in charge, she knew any help would have to come from whatever minimal staffing was left at the controls.

Once she was up the hill and to the main building, she got out of the car and headed inside. She paused at the lab, staring inside at all of the creatures in their glass bins and everything else that had become a familiar but dreadful sight. "Haven't seen you in awhile," someone greeted. She bit her cheek slightly and looked to the Asian man speaking to her.

"To your luck," she responded. The man chuckled.

"You should be happy. We gave you a nice gift." She scoffed and shook her head.

"I never saw you signing up to take my place." He smiled some; the usual smile that grated on her nerves long before she agreed to be one of his little experiments. Hammond protected him at the fall of the original park and of course they wouldn't hesitate to call him back on for this project. She felt certain that no matter what happened, he would be safe.

"I'm needed here. It wouldn't benefit my job any to be my own experiment." Her eyes narrowed slightly and she took a few steps closer to the so-called doctor.

"Do you not ever feel any guilt for what you do?" She studied him, stopping only a few feet in front of him. "Those lives from the original park were lost because of your little experiments. Lives here have been lost, probably more than last time, and you still don't care."

"I only give them what they want."

"You could have said no."

"That's not my place." She paused and looked to the ceiling. He was just like everyone else. She wondered if he felt this way in the old days or if it became his self-defense to guard against the guilt that his creations killed people, that the things he made could not be controlled and yet they pretended they could. She looked back to him.

"I could kill you right now, end this all forever."

"But you wouldn't." He turned, heading around the other side of a table, near a computer. "If I recall correctly, when you first came in, your biggest fear was losing your humanity." She bit her cheek again and looked away, studying some of the amber deposits he had lined on a shelf.

"Think it's a bit late for that." She looked back to him, hesitating for a small moment, before turning. "But I promised I would be at the control center, not wasting time in the lab. Guess you get to live." She made her way into the hallway and headed for the control room, letting out a small sigh as she walked that way. She pushed open the door. The inside was filled with InGen at almost every station, most of the usual workers standing against the wall with their arms practically hugging themselves.

All of their eyes shifted to her, but the others just kept their eyes on the screen as Owen and the others followed the Raptors. She made her way down the stairs, stopping next to Lowery. "Stop holding your breath," she told him. He jumped some before looking to her.

"Don't do that," he insisted. She laughed a little and looked down at him and then to the screen. Everyone turned to face the door again as Hoskins entered and Tara rolled her eyes. The man took a seat next to Lowery. Several moments passed, the Raptors and the others on the screen just making through way through the forest, before Hoskins said something to Lowery and took a drink from the man's soda. Tara stifled a laugh, clearing her throat and rolling her shoulders before looking back up to the screen.

When the caravan of Raptors and people finally came to a stop, the Indominus made herself known. Through the night vision set on the Raptors, Tara watched as the Indominus and the Raptors seemed to communicate. She kept her curses to herself, realizing, as Owen did out in the field, what the other part of the Indominus was. Of course, Hoskins either didn't pick up on this or didn't care and gave the command to fire.

That was when all hell broke loose.

At first, they seemed to down the creature. Tara could hear her angry and hurt cries as she picked herself back up and ran off. Owen told everyone that the Raptors had a new alpha and the men began to progress slowly, until the Raptors began attacking. More screams of terror and pain broke out from the human victims, most of them unable to stand their ground against the dinosaurs.

She glanced to Hoskins, who had his own look of surprise before turning and storming out of the room. The cameras of the carnage went off one-by-one, leaving the room in silence. Tara let out a small sigh and took the seat Hoskins was occupying moments ago. She looked to Lowery, who glanced to her. "Probably should have washed that first," he responded. She smiled some.

"Fresh out of soap," she responded. The two of them looked back to the screens in front of them. The squares flickered back to life just as they had dimmed, this time, focusing on those guests waiting for the ferries to arrive. A few of the InGen personnel started talking, one of them pulling out his phone and holding a hushed conversation. After a few moments, and a few other commands, they all began to pack up, moving about the room with orders of leaving.

"Is this what you had in mind?" Lowery idly asked, still staring at the screens. Tara couldn't help her laugh as the oblivious man started noticing the commotion around him. He turned some, looking at Vivian who stared there with her usual innocent stance, hands tucked together under a sweater.

"They had said we had to evacuate. There's a boat. You coming?" she asked. Tara watched Lowery, who looked to the screen and then took a deep breath. He stood up.

"Someone has to stay behind." Tara noticed the insecurity in his tone, despite his best to make it sound brave and firm. He was no Owen Grady, or Barry, but she did have to give him props for having some guts. And then he strode over to Vivian and made a move to kiss her before she rejected him, saying she had a boyfriend.

Tara almost wanted to laugh but more felt embarrassed for the man, who dragged out the whole scene with an awkward conversation about the whole thing before they hugged, again awkwardly, and she left. She watched the man stand there a bit longer, rather proud he wasn't just hanging his head or breaking out sobbing, before he silently made his way to his seat and stared at the screens. She eyed him before looking to the screens as well.

"At least you're not alone," she stated.

"Yeah." He looked to her again. "What are these rumors about you being able to speak to it, by the way?" She took a deep breath and let it out before looking to him.

"Wrong dinosaur."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Planet of Dinosaurs," Tara said. She watched Lowery as the man laugh some and looked to her.

"Are you serious?" he asked. He motioned to the screens. "After everything that's happened today, that's the movie you suggest?" She shrugged, laughing some herself.

"I haven't seen it since I was a kid. I just remember the cover and that it gave me nightmares," she stated. "But seriously. You, me, that movie. You bring the popcorn."

"I-I don't think… yeah, no, I was thinking more like the Mummy," he responded. She stared at him a moment.

"So you'd rather some dead dude that you can't kill with supernatural powers than dinosaurs?"

"Yeah, pretty much." She laughed some and shook her head, about to respond when there was a scream, followed by the sound of crashing. Both Lowery and Tara looked to the door. She stood up, waiting for something more. There was another crash, the sound of glass breaking, and what sounded like a dinosaur – a raptor to be honest.

"Stay here." She headed for the door, the other man thinking about responding but stopping himself as she entered the hallway. Broken glass littered the hallway. The lab, from what she could already see, was smashed up. The scent of blood lingered on the air and she headed further down the hallway, noticing the splatter and puddle inside the room. She glanced down the hallway again before heading toward the door, wondering why the Raptor that got in went back out without exploring further.

She heard another sound outside. The Indominus. Her pace quickened and she ran through the lobby that led to the resort and threw open the door just in time to see the Raptors pounce on the large dinosaur in front of them. She cursed softly, wishing she was allowed to carry a weapon on her.

She saw Owen dart behind one of the amber street decorations and the others duck into a building. A growl rumbled through her throat and she ran a bit closer to the scene. She let out a small roar, catching the Indominus's attention. One of the Raptors took the opportunity, as did Owen. She ducked when its tail flew passed her and she darted closer to the man. She let out another roar, waiting for the Indominus to turn toward her before running around to the other side of it.

Claire ran off, catching her attention for a brief moment before one of the Raptors was thrown passed her. She watched it burst into flames before Owen ran to the boys. Her attention flickered back to the large dinosaur before she ducked behind a wall herself. The sound of the Indominus sniffing could be heard before the crash of the other building behind destroyed. At least one of the boys started screaming. She leaned out from behind her place and saw the Indominus reaching for the other three.

Moving back, she pressed her back to the wall, staring further into the dining room she found herself hiding in. She heard the roar of the T-Rex in the distance before the screaming came to a stop. She took a deep breath, pushing herself up to her feet and moving out from the wall. Without hesitation, she let out another roar.

The Indominus seemed to jerk something out of where it was reaching and she found herself hoping it wasn't something living. The object got tossed aside, much too small to be one of the three trying to stay out of reach. The dinosaur turned its attention on her and she let out a sound again, still imitating a juvenile T-Rex. Something red flashed through the air before the beast could make for her. She saw Claire fall to the ground as a dinosaur much too familiar to her broke through one of the skeletons. A smile made its way across her face as it let out a roar.

She watched as the two went at each other, much more vicious than the Raptors fought against the Indominus. Or perhaps it was from the size of it that made it look worse. Either way, there was no question that they were going for blood. The Indominus looked to be winning, scratching the T-Rex across the face and throwing her down. Claire narrowly managed to scramble up and find a hiding place.

She heard the woman cry out to the others, telling them to run just before her T-Rex got slammed into the building the others were hiding in. Tara stepped out, ready to attempt something to keep the Indominus from finishing off the dinosaur she'd spent the better part of the last few months with, when one of the Raptors barked out. She looked in the direction, noticing Blue making her way toward the scene. Blue jumped up, landing on the Indominus and attacking it, allowing the Rex to get back to her feet.

Tara saw the others start running and went to the do the same for herself. Her path became cut off as the Tyrannosaurus slammed the Indominus into a building in front of her. They moved away and she went to do the same before debris came crashing down, the sounds of the battle fading away and the world around Tara going dark.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

The ground rumbled. Buildings shook, debris shifted. Several rocks tumbled to the ground. Amber eyes opened.

Tara blinked in the light that flooded into her eyes. She tried to lift a hand to wipe away the dirt she could feel caking her face, but felt the weight of something on it. Her body shifted as she rocked her hips, more debris falling from her. The earth shook again and she managed to sit up, pulling her arm painfully from a piece of rubble. She rested it in her lap, glancing up at the long necked dinosaur walking passed some of the shops. Her brows pushed together as she watched it before looking down to arm.

Dried blood caked it, a piece of bone poking out from the pierced skin. She cringed, the nerves sending shocks of pain to her brain as it recognized the wound. Cursing under her breath, she pushed herself up onto shaky feet, glancing around the destroyed area. The events from what she assumed was the night prior flooding into her mind. Her gaze darted around, her heart beating faster and her lungs taking in breath at a quicker pace.

She racked her brain, trying to figure out what would have happened after she lost consciousness. Her knees gave out underneath her and she fell into the wall, barely propping herself up, cringing as her bad arm landed painfully against her side. "Where is everyone?" she asked, as if anyone would answer her. She shifted, letting her back rest against the wall as she stared at the destroyed Pandora shop.

She didn't see the Indominus laying dead anywhere, but she also didn't see the Tyrannosaurus or Blue. In fact, no decisive evidence to the end of the battle was anywhere to be seen on the streets, other than the destruction of Jurassic World.

Her gaze shifted to the visitor's center and she pushed off from the wall, stumbling forward slightly. If they would hole up anywhere, it would probably be the control room, and even if they weren't there, she could probably find some evidence for what happened, or something for her arm. She headed toward the stairs, finding her legs weak and heavy as she walked.

She made her way inside, feeling the same heat from outside. The power was shut off. She pushed back the conclusion that came to her mind with the realization and made her way down the hall, telling herself to take it one step at a time.

She stopped in the lab, picking up a chair and finding one of the emergency kits they kept on hand. Taking a seat, she took a moment to glance around, noting the silence. The weight of being alone pushed down on her. She curled her lips inward as she stared at the deep red splatter against the wall, the remains of Hoskins still only half eaten and rotting.

"Maybe the power is off because the park fell… maybe something with one of the dinosaurs." Talking to her made things feel slightly better, not so quiet and lonely. She looked to her arm, taking a deep breath. "This is gonna hurt." She took hold of her wrist and paused before jerking her arm and wrist. A mix between a scream and a pained roar escaped her lips before she stop, panting as her eyes filled with involuntary tears.

She cleaned up the blood on her arm and stuck a few bandages across the cut before wrapping it, biting back the pain the flared from the sensitive area. Once she finished, she stood up and turned to face the doorway. She debated her course of action; maybe she should scrounge for food, replenish her strength before facing the answer she knew was coming. If anyone had been inside that control room, they would have heard her and probably come to investigate. But no one came. She took a deep breath. "Just get it over with, Tara."

She moved into the hall, walking over the broken glass, and to the door of the control room. Her hand rested against the door before pushing the two apart, an awkward doing with only one good arm. Darkness. She looked to the blank screen at the front of the room, her mind flashing images of the horrors that took place there hours, maybe days, ago. Her eyes stung some. Her gaze going to the dinosaur figurines Lowery left behind.

No signs of victory, but no signs of death. If they were able to lead an organized evacuation than surely the Indominus was defeated. That meant the others had to be alive, at least some of them. But it also meant she was alone.

She turned, staring down the hallway. Her feet seemed to move on their own as she headed back toward the visitor's area and out the front door. She stared down the destroyed street, the dinosaurs that made their way through the broken stores. The first day she'd been there, everything seemed so exciting. Danger seemed inevitable, but she had been prepared to stare it in the eyes.

She could almost picture Masrani standing next to her, the shopkeepers preparing to open on that first day, everyone eager for the visitors. "This place is going to change lives." They'd look to each other and he'd smiled, that warm and almost mischievous smile of his. "You'll never be the same after this place."

She laughed some and shook her head. If only she'd known then how true his words would have been. Maybe then she would have walked away. Probably not. She glanced up, watching one of the Pteradons flying overhead. Somehow, she'd find a way to survive. She had one thing on her side at least, one thing that she would use to her advantage, as long as her luck would turn onto her side again. Maybe one day they'd come find her, try to take back the park. But until that day…

She ahead again, letting out the cry of a T-Rex to its parents.


End file.
